


Laws of Gravity

by ThatOneHorizonSimp (Ay_Oxie)



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Eventual Romance, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, but also not really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27592252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ay_Oxie/pseuds/ThatOneHorizonSimp
Summary: Sorry to anyone thinking this is a book about actual laws of gravity, and physics in general - it's not. (Though what are you doing here if you don't like apex yet still searched for it in the fandoms?)Gravity, or gravitation, is a natural process by which all things with mass or energy are brought towards one another. Let's see what we can do with this, aye?This one story is my way of finally - actually - entering the AL (read Apex Legends, don't judge me) Fandom, and also my first one since 2017. Kind of an X Reader - oh no, the cringe - but also kind of NOT an X Reader. You'll see what I mean.It's also my tribute, sort of, to Horizon, who I've been heavily simping for since the start of S7.I can't promise regular updates, but I'll try my best to keep this thing active until I'm done with it.
Relationships: Horizon | Mary Somers/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	1. XXX - Update Notes

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to check this every now and then !  
> It will contain all information about future updates to the story, as I continue it.

_This will be a collection of sorts, of all the times this story was updated, whether it be minor spelling updates, or a whole new chapter. I suggest you take a look at it every time the story updates to know what has changed. It also is the first chapter for this very reason._

_Update notes will be as follows :_

_**x.0.0.0** -> Reeeaaally big updates. We're talking bigger than chapters at this point. I'll probably only use this when the story will feel like it's completed, so don't really be on the look out for this one._

_**0.x.0.0** -> Probably chapter updates, as those won't be too uncommon. Do look at this one if you're only interested by the story, and not my ramblings and such._

_**0.0.x.0** -> Minor story updates - maybe I felt like a part of the story wasn't worked on enough. This tag is the good place to put it at. It's nothing too minor, but still could affect the rest of the plot, so I may have to make adjustments to the rest of the story to prevent retcons and such. If so, might just be considered as a chapter update, so do check out the update descriptions._

_**0.0.0.x** -> Either A/Ns (Author Notes), or really minor spelling updates. Once again, do look into the update descs \- if it's about me being in constant pain to find chapter topics, I might just need someone to respond (by the way, suggestions might just be considered into the story at some point, if I feel like the plot goes too quickly, so don't be shy!)._

_If any other tag is added, I'll make sure to add it in the list above._

_Oh, and timestamps are for GMT+1. Remember that._

* * *

v.0.0.9.0 (13/11/20 ; 11:07pm) → The story for Chapter I is mainly finished. All it needs is a little polishing, and proofreading. As soon as both are done, along with a better story description, tags, and such, it should be good for publishing. ~~Now I'm just hoping this won't flop too hard.~~

v.0.1.0.0 (16/11/20 ; 00:00) → Update includes initial release on Quotev, with chapters XXX , I , and XX. All spelling errors should be corrected by now. Work on Chapter II should have started, according to schedule. Also, the story has an actual start now - it used to begin right away, but I've decided to add a bonus "reminiscing" moment.

v.0.1.1.0 (16/11/20 ; 18:30) → Secondary release, on AO3. Removal of chapter XX on said version, because people are more likely to be flexible on there than on Q.

v.0.1.2.0 (16/11/20 ; 19;30) → Still fixing stuff on the AO3 version : I've finally figured how to add a summary to the preview page - turns out it was easy af. So, a quick summary was added!


	2. I - The Core Issue

_You remember seeing yourself in a singular cabin, afloat in zero-G. There was an object, far in the distance - a star, maybe? No, it couldn't be. Stars aren't navy blue, as of the last time you checked. You also remember seeing a head float by in your peripheral vision - it wasn't yours, you're pretty sure. The person who owned this head spoke up, but you can't exactly remember what they said._

_Wait, where are you again? And who were you?_

_Oh, right. You're part of the NV5A Corps - or at least, you're pretty sure, judging by the insignia on your right arm, and this is their annual meeting concerning the state of The Outlands._

_Better focus on the others, too - sounds like something interesting is about to happen._

"-and so, in up to ten years, our entire world could fall to ruin, if this energy issue isn't treated properly." A voice resonates within the large building, a couple of worried murmurs heard here and there.

"I understand your worries," the voice continues, "but worry not. I have personally tasked the greatest minds of Olympus to come up with a solution within the next year. I can assure you all, people of Psamathe, and of the Outlands, that the situation is under complete control." More murmurs, this time louder, and apprehensive.

"Actually," another voice cuts the audience, raising curiosity. "why wait a whole year if we already have the solution, eh?"

The man on the stage speaks up again, seemingly looking at you. "Oh? And might we know who has the solution, miss..?"

Just as you turn your face to look at her, the woman responds. "Somers. Doctor Mary Somers. And I believe I do."

"Very well, then." The man seems doubtful. "May you come here and tell us all about your little idea, Dr. Somers ?"

"I don't see any reason not to." She started making her way through the heavy mass that was the audience, her movements slow and precise. Once she got on the stage, she nodded at Olympus' leader - or at least, who you think was the man on stage - and took his place near the microphone, inhaling deeply.

"So. As I've said, a recent theory of mine shows that we could find really high energy-dense minerals somewhere in the Outlands, and it shouldn't even be too hard to obtain-" The Doctor was cut by the audience, which for the majority felt relieved.

She spoke again, louder. "However, we have two problems." Silence. "One, it's just a theory. I could be wrong for all I know. And two, if I wasn't wrong, said mineral could only be found.. Near Black Holes. Or even worse, in their accretion disk."

Voices echoed throughout the room, disappointed, worried, or even angry at the scientist. Mary looked at the audience, a hint of sadness in her eyes, but also acknowledgement, as if she'd predicted their reaction. She scoured the audience with her eyes to look for people who maybe, just maybe, weren't loathing her. Her eyes eventually found you, and after you noticed her unintentional staring, smiled, the moved your hands in a "Go on" gesture. She lightly jumped, then started talking again.

"Right-- I'm sorry if to you all, this plan sounds incredibly stupid. But, if I'm right, and my calculations are correct, a single black hole could power the Outlands for millennia, if not tens of thousands of years. To me, it sounds like a risk worth taking." She took a small pause to look at the leader who stood beside her, arms crossed, then went back to talking. "Besides, we could still figure out things as we go, couldn't we? For now, Branthium is the only alternative we have. Wasting time, in the situation that we're in, isn't a good idea. So, what do y'all think?"

Murmurs raised again, curious. She, after all, could be right. After a few moments, you raised your voice. "Question, Dr. Somers. Would any kind of black holes do?" She responded immediately. "Probably not. The concentration of Branthium in the close space is too low to consider black holes that aren't emitting high levels of gamma rays. We'd need especially dense ones."

"Not likely at all, then?" You replied.

"Sadly not... But, there's still a chance! So, who's with me?" Two seconds of silence, after which you're the first to clap. Follows another clap, then another, another, and so on. After less than ten seconds, against all odds, the whole room is cheering for Somers, whose eyes seemed to be glowing with delight. She looked at you, then nodded, seemingly content with how thing had gotten.

Minutes later, after a short briefing of the meeting, the room was slowly emptying itself. When you got outside, the young woman was leaning against a wall, writing notes on a square handbook. You approached her, trying to read whatever she was writing down. You then spoke aloud. "Good job out there, Doctor."

She lightly jumped, her bubble popped. "Oh, good. I was waiting for you." She put her book and pen in one of her coat's pockets, then looked at you. "I wanted to say, thank you. I needed someone like you to pick me up there. I knew they'd be mad, I just didn't expect them to be so... Vocal about it."

"Don't sweat it, it's alright. That's the least I could do. You idea isn't bad, it's just hard to set up. Do ask me if you need a hand, I'd be glad to help."

"I'll keep that in mind. Oh, but where are my manners." She held a hand out to you, a light smile on her face. "Name's Mary Somers. Pleasure to meet you..?"

You shook her hand, shivering to the contact - her skin was as cold as her pale tone made it look. "Hope. Without a last name, as far as I know. And the pleasure is mine."

"Pleasure to meet you, Hope. Surely you wouldn't mind if I treated you to a cup of tea, would you?"

You let go of her hand, which now felt chill to the touch, compared to your second hand. "Not at all, Dr. Somers."

She quickly turned around, her fire-colored hair flowing through a slight breeze that passed by. "Great. Follow me, please." She started walking towards the residence center, at a decent pace. "Oh, and please, call me Mary."

"Got it, Mary." You followed, right behind her, lost in thoughts. 

* * *

Before you knew it, you found yourself in the Autumn Estates - the newest residence district in Olympus, a beautiful place with even more beautiful trees, whose leaves seemed to fall then grow back instantly, always a vibrant orange, which reminded you of the Doctor's hair. You stood near the middle building, the tallest of them, admiring the view, until you heard a door open itself, Mary holding it. She spoke once, then twice, but you barely heard her, lost in a trance. She sighed - or so you think, it might have just been a small gush of wind - then closed the door to walk towards you. 

"Beautiful, is it not?" She said calmly, looking in the same direction as you. 

You just hummed in approval, still deep in your thoughts. You slowly got out of it though, then looked at her, whispering something even you didn't hear. 

"Hm? Did you say something, dearie?" She looked at you curiously, trying to decipher whatever it was you said. 

"Nothing important. Shall we go in?" 

"Why, of course. The tea isn't going to make itself."

As soon as you entered the house, Mary opened her mouth, only to be cut off by a fast moving bullet of a child, hugging her so violently she almost fell down. 

"Why hello, Newtie," She kissed the child on his forehead, her eyes now soft and affectionate. "had a good day while I was out?" 'Newtie' nodded, still not letting go of her. Mary then looked at you. "Hope, this is Newton, my son. Newtie, this is Hope. He's going to stay here a little, for tea time."

Newton turned his head towards you, smiling like nothing you've ever seen before. Whatever life he lived, he seemed to live a great one.

"Hi, Hope! Are you mommy's new boyfriend?"

Now that, you weren't expecting. As the same time as Mary, you blew a gigantic raspberry, before saying, unwillingly loudly, "No I'm not." His smile dropped a little, 

Mary, meanwhile, was stuck in a constant loop of looking at Newton, then you, then him... She also might've been lightly, very lightly blushing, but weren't sure.

Anyhoo, Newt seemed down, so you tried getting his mood back up. "No, sorry, I'm not. Why, your father isn't with you two?"

That seemed to take Mary out of her staring loop. She looked at you as if you'd said something forbidden, before inhaling and calming her senses. 

"No, he's not. He left us when Newtie was two. I feel so bad for him.." She too, now, seemed sad.

"Hey, it's fine," You tried to lighten up the mood. "if he left you two, that means he just didn't deserve you. And Newton, it's fine. Because you don't have a dad right now, doesn't mean you never will! Just give yourself time."

Newton nodded, while Mary's eyes seemed empty, now devoid of the happiness that was in them not even a minute ago. You then crouched to get to Newton's level, and brushed his hair away from his eyes, to get a better view of his face. After a few instants, you spoke again. "Look, how about we get the tea going? Everything's better after a good cup of tea, right?" Newt nodded again, while Mary got a hold of herself, looking at least a little more enthusiastic. "Right, tea !"

She ran off to the kitchen, hearing water being poured, then set on a boiler, while she talked to herself, her voice partially covered by the walls. ___"He doesn't... Does he? Of course not, there's ... , except if... I'll have to ... myself. "_ You couldn't make it all out, but it did spike your curiosity. 

A few minutes later, she came back in the living room, holding a board with three cups of tea, still steaming, and a couple of biscuits. She seemed to be in a much better mood than before, and found herself smiling when she found you and Newton playing together, the child beaming with happiness, while you wore an equally enthusiastic grin.

Mary lay down the board on the table, sitting next to Newton. The said child quickly took his cup of tea, labeled with a purple N, and gave his mother hers. You then proceeded to take your own, bringing it to your lips.

Mary's face suddenly lit up, eyes full of panic. "H-Hold on, dearie-" However, she'd been just a little too late. Your only response was a muffled moan of pain, as the burning liquid you introduced to your mouth went down your throat, and you tried breathing in and out rapidly to cool down your body. Your cheeks were, at least for now, red as tomatoes form the heat. Mary ran to the kitchen to grab a glass of cold water, while Newton stood there, effectively panicked, assaulting you with question like 'are you okay?' or 'does it still burn?'

The fact that this child was so worried about someone he'd met even just an hour ago made you smile, and as the pain slowly went away, you gave him a headpat he outright melted right in.

When Mary came back, just seconds later, you were already feeling better, though the cold water was much appreciated. After chugging down the glass, you gave Mary, whose smile was present, yet subtle, an apologetic look. She sat back down, relaxed. "Next time, dearie, try remembering heat is a thing, okay? 'would be a shame if you'd burnt your tongue off."

Newton interrupted, incredulity in his eyes. "Wait, is that possible?"

"Well, yes, but also no. You could burn your tongue really badly, sure, but it wouldn't fall off, technically speaking." His mother replied. However, just to be sure, he poked his tongue, then nodded, as a way to reassure himself. Mary giggled from that, gently caressing his left cheek. "Don't worry, m'boy. I promise it can't fall off." He nodded again, looking somewhat confident. 

You were about to speak up, trying to break out of the family bubble you'd gotten trapped in, when a phone - not yours, so very probably Mary's - started ringing. She basically jumped off her chair, grabbing said phone, and going outside, her index finger pointing upwards in a 'shush' motion. 

While she was busy talking on the phone, you decided to have a small chat with Newton. You'd thus learned a few things - he was soon going to turn ten, and basically never went to school, Mary teaching him whatever he needed to know. You'd found that last bit quite interesting; how could she, being the scientist she supposedly was, be able to spare enough time to educate her son, by herself and herself alone? 

Another thing you learned, when he gave you a tour of the house, and moreover his room, was that he had a thing for space. Whatever his brilliant astrophysicist of a mother worked on must have gotten on his mind as well, you thought. His room's walls were colored by a gradient of purple, then navy and light blue, while his sheets were a representation on Olympus' night sky, dotted all over with stars of different colors and sizes.

You'd have thought such an environment would be overwhelming for him, but every time you asked something about this place, he happily responded, describing pretty well the sceneries he had the chance to see for so long; back on the surface of Psamathe, things were nowhere close to what was observable on Olympus, as long as you'd subtracted the fact that it mostly was populated by scientific minds and rich people. You'd gladly stay up there, but as far as you knew, you'd have to come down sooner or later. 

* * *

Anyway; Newton continued giving his tour of the house. Somehow, it was much, much more spacious than the outside made it look, kind of like if it was all underground. Once his homemade tour was done, you made sure to thank him, then went back to the living room to finish your tea. Mary was, apparently, done talking on the phone, instead frantically writing equations on a drawing board that rested against the wall. All the calculations looked like gibberish to you, but then again, you weren't an astrophysicist, and she was. You slowly approached her, trying not to break her focus, and the closer you got to her, the faster she wrote. 

Once you were right next to her side, the board was practically packed with equations, notes, and such. She looked proudly at it, then finally noticed you, in the corner of her peripheral vision. "Oh, there you are! I was wondering where you went." She turned around, opening a small drawer and rummaging through it. "Care to help this poor old lady out?"

You looked at her, dumbfounded. "I-I'm not against it, but I don't know how I could he-"

"You'll see. Child's play." She cut you. Mary grabbed you by the arms, placing you next to her large board, and held her arms out, sending you a 'do that' look. You thus did the same, after what she turned around again, grabbing a smaller board she then placed on your arms, at an angle where it wouldn't slip off. You were about to speak up when she put her index finger on your mouth. "Shush, dearie. I need to focus."

She wrote down another considerable amount of equations of all kinds, as your thoughts ran wild. After a minute or so, you spoke up again. "How old are you anyway?" She immediately stopped writing, looking up at you. "Why'd you ask that? Am I this interesting?", she asked with a smirk, her pen under your chin.

It took you time to correctly formulate your reply. "M-Maybe, yes, but that wasn't my point." You stuttered.

Mary stared at you for a couple seconds, before she broke down, laughing to her heart's content. Once her laughing died down, she tried speaking again. "A-At least, you were h-honest with yourself." By now, you were hiding behind the neck of your shirt, embarrassed by your own actions. "What was your point anyway?" She continued.

"R-Right." You let go of your shirt, directly looking at her. By now, and considering the unusual heat you felt, you were sure your cheeks were closer to the myriad of freckles on hers than they could've ever been. "You said 'care to help this old lady out' - but you don't even look over 30. And, if you ARE, and consider it old, then it means I also am, on my part, an old man."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Interesting development, dearie. To answer your first point, do note that, if I do not look like it - and apparently I don't, thank you, that's really sweet o' you - I'm 36 years old. To answer the second-"

"Hold on, hold on." You interrupted her. "You're.. Older than me?"

"Am I, now?"

"By Gods, yes. By two whole years, even!"

"Oh, my. A-Anyway, that doesn't matter." She shook her head. "My second statement was that, as you may know, time is relative. We can't tell what young, or old defines. So, by someone's standards, I could be either young, or really really old."

"That makes sense. But that means that, by your own standards, you're old."

"Not mine. Newtie's." She started writing her equations again, her face back to its focused look. "Now if you don't mind, I still have this set of maths to finish for Reid."

"For who?" You asked immediately after. "For Reid. Doctor Reid. My apprentice, and assistant at Hammond Labs." She explained, her eyes not moving off the board. While she was doing her thing, Newton entered the house again ; while you and Mary were talking earlier, he'd gone out to play for a moment. He stood there, behind her, trying to read her calculations, but to no avail. Once she got done with this board as well, she looked at it thoroughly, re-reading the math not once, but twice. After a third look at it, her eyebrows furrowed, as she got slight anger out of herself. " _Fuck_ , that's all wrong! Sorry Hope, but we're not done yet." You didn't hear that last part, however. You'd been looking at Newton, then at the same time as him, said " **Language.** ****"

Mary looked at you, then followed your gaze for her eyes to land upon her son, who was looking at her with both amazement, and disappointment - they had a golden rule to never say any swears, but apparently, it wasn't always followed. "Sorry, Newtie. I'll make sure not to say that again." She said with an apologetic look.

She rewrote her equations, then triple-checked them before finally being able to catch a break. You laid down the board you'd now been holding for at least half an hour, and sat on a chair next to her, contemplating her work. It was complicated, and dense, but you could still make some basic stuff out of it. After a good minute of brain-melting maths, you looked on the walls for a clock, and seeing none, hoped Mary had a watch. "Uh, Mary, might I know what time it is?"

She looked at her wrist, then at you. "6:47, why?"

_Uh oh._ You thought. "When did the last shuttle to Psamathe leave?"

"If the schedule didn't change since I got here three years ago, I'd say six."

_**Uh oh.**_ "And there isn't one until next congress, right?" 

"Unless anything goes extremely wrong, yes. Wh- Oh." Her eyes widened. "Oh, I see. You're stuck here, aren't you?" You nodded slowly, the information sinking in. "Well, I guess at least for tonight, you have the couch. But that won't do if you have to wait 'till next year, and our guest room is, uh, borrowed. Think you can wait until tomorrow to think all of it through? I should be at the Labs by now; I'll try finding a solution when I get back."

"Hold on, you're leaving me here?"

"Yes, sorry. If I ain' t there in five minutes, Reid will kill me. And, besides, someone needs to take care of my Newton for me, and he seems to like you."

"You really need to work on your authority, if your own assistant scares you this much."

"I know, dearie. I'm.. Working on that." She stood up, putting on her lab coat, and grabbing her boards. "If I'm not back by nine, could you please make dinner for Newtie? He'll show you where things are. Sorry again!" She headed out, as you sighed. It was going to be one hell of a ride.

And, oh Lord, it was.

Newton had come out of his room when he heard his mother leave the house, as he didn't even get a chance to kiss her goodbye, which he was used to since she never got home before his bedtime. You took a moment to explain the situation to him; If you and Mary didn't find a solution soon, you'd eventually have to spend basically a year with them. To that, he let out a cheerful 'yay', which reassured you. At least, both of them tolerated you - for now. Your evening was, unsurprisingly, the same as when you were in your home on Psamathe, except with an extra child - who wasn't even that hard to take care of, as Newton had stayed in his room for the majority of the time, except for when you had dinner, after which he went to sleep while you dozed off on their couch.

Long, or soon after - you weren't really sure - you heard a door open, then close, which got you out of your sleep. Without even looking at who got in, you spoke up, sleepily. "Welcome back, M'lady."

Mary giggled at that, then got to the couch, pulling her head over the cushions so she could see you. "Why, thank you, M'lord." Her hair was absolutely messy, and faint traces of tears could be seen on the edges of her eyes.

"What happened to you?" You said while pointing at her face.

She thought for a second, after which she realized what you were pointing at. Because she also had a long, not yet treated cut on her right cheek. Her hand moved to it by instinct. "Oh, that? Don't worry, dearie. It's nothing to worry about. I actually got here sooner than planned to take care of it." 

"That doesn't answer my question, Mary."

"Right." She sat on the couch, relaxing herself. "We've been playing a wee bit with the laws of gravity, recently. Except it's really, really hard to control - it's also how I had the idea for Branthium, which also, forgot to tell you, was approved a couple hours ago." Mary stretched her arms out, yawning. "They think we could use it for more than just energy purposes. We're trying to create 'dispositives for gravity inversion and weight lifting.' A sort of Gravity lift, if you will. Except the current tests are rather... Destructive. And explosive."

You sighed. "Are you all at the Labs crazy enough to work with explosive representations of gravity?"

"As far as I'm concerned, yes. And we're not crazy, darlin'. We're geniuses - which, in terms, is much worse."

"I agree on that part; the living proof is right here, sitting on this very couch."

"I take it as a compliment, dear." A hand on her chest, she stood proudly, eyes looking up to the ceiling.

"Take it as you will." You replied. "Shouldn't you got take care of that cut - and, supposing geniuses sleep, go do exactly that?"

"I told you not to worry about it. But sleep doesn't-" She yawned again, eyes slightly teary "-sound like a bad idea. I didn't even get my nap today." She got up, taking the stairs down towards her room. "Don't be afraid to wake me up if I ain't up before you, I've got work to do tomorrow."

"Copy that. G'night, Mary." She replied with a slightly high pitched hum, disappearing beneath the floor. You laid down on your back, right as the lights turned off automatically, pulling a blanket - the one Newton had given you when he noticed you had nothing else to cover yourself with for the night - over yourself, slowly falling into deep sleep. 

* * *

You woke up with a lot less ease than you should have. Your night was.. Painful, to say the least. Dreams of being left for dead in space, betrayed by someone you couldn't recognize. However, a good five minutes after you finally opened your eyes, you'd already forgotten much of it. It took you even more time to actually get up, and when you got your first sight of the entire house, everything felt like it was frozen in time. A few rays of light were passing through the living room, rendered visible by the unusual amount of dust in said room - everything was silent, you couldn't even hear your own heartbeat. A single sound made your ear literally pop up, that of the wind rustling the leaves outside, which still were the perfect orange-red from the day before. 

You groggily stood up, going to grab a glass of water when you realized; you weren't home. It took you a moment to process, when you remembered all that'd happened yesterday, memories rushing inside your mind. You also remembered Mary's request - that you'd have to go wake her up if she wasn't. Judging by the color of the light, and the angle of the rays, it was at least 65% up - this meant close to 10 in the morning. You'd have expected her to be awake by now, but since her coat was still on the chair she left it on, and the fact that the note on the table wasn't signed by her, she probably still was asleep. 

Speaking of which - a note was on the coffee table right next to the couch you slept on. Apparently, Newton hadn't seen his mother up either, and judged it was better to inform you he'd left to go play with the MRVNs at the facility Hammond built nearby - wait, that company still existed? If so, it was at least 200 years old - if not more. 

Anyway - you had a scientist to wake up. ~~And a beautiful one, at that.~~ So, as soon as you found something to feed your stomach, who'd been growling since you'd opened your eyes, you went down to the basement, where Mary slept.

There were actually two rooms there; one with a couple pieces of complicated pieces of machinery, whiteboards stuffed with equations - probably her thinking spot, when she wanted to be away from everything, including Newton - and the one she slept in. Ironically, this one had a window, which allowed you to get a perfect, clear view of the surface of Psamathe, though more than eight thousand feet in the air. It also allowed a tiny ray of light in, that once again was rendered viewable because of the high amount of dust in the air. This tiny line of light ended up right on Mary's face, who indeed was still sleeping, her chest raising and lowering periodically as she breathed. She had a peaceful smile on her face, and her blindingly white teeth - anyone would be jealous of those - reflected small particles of light where they could, since her teeth were barely visible. For a moment, you hesitated to wake her up. She looked as _paisible_ as a baby that would have fallen asleep in its mother's arms, and so beautiful in this state she could very well be the sleeping beauty in that earthian fairy tale from over 650 years ago. So you kept staring at her. For a long, long time. You honestly wouldn't have minded if you would have had to stay in Olympus forever; as long as you'd wake up to this every morning, it would be largely worth the price of losing all you ever had on Psamathe. And so you stood there, captivated by the way she looked. So questions ran through your head. Questions with, and without answers. Eventually, seconds passed, and before you knew it, minutes.

After an incalculable amount of time, you realized that if she still hadn't woken up, she definitely needed to rest; a question you'd need to ask her later, once she'd be up and running. You wanted to let her sleep, really - but you'd given your word, hadn't you? Reluctantly, you called out her name, once. Nothing. So you called again. Still nothing; not even a sound, other than your own voice. After a third attempt, you gave up, and just came near her to shake her - softly - out of her sleep.

When you got to her level, you crouched to get to her height, so your eyes were right in front of her, and then put your hand on her shoulder. One thing you noticed, before you shook her, was that there was nothing on said shoulders - this meant either one of two things : One, was that she had an off-shoulder top, or Two, was that she slept either partially or completely nude. You had no desire to find out, and you very probably wouldn't, but images still ran through your head at the thought of the latter case.

However things would turn out didn't matter - at least yet, and they probably wouldn't anyway - so you just went ahead and did the one thing you originally came down to do half an hour ago, which was pulling Mary out of her sleep. So you shook her back and forth a few times. "Rise and shine, Mary. I believe you have work to do~" You said with a soft voice.

The asleep scientist finally moved, mumbling "Mmh... Five more minutes..." with an even quieter voice as she pulled the blanket that covered her over her head. You asked her to get up again, but she didn't move one bit, so you just took the edge of her blanket, bulling it back to her neck. "Mary, get up."

"But why..?" She asked sleepily, her eyes barely open since they stung from the surrounding light.

"Because it's near 10:30 ? And you asked me to take care of getting you to wake up?"

"Wait." She suddenly opened her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Ten thirty in the morning, I'm afraid. I've been in this room for thirty minutes-"

"Hold on. Ten thirty?!"

"Yes, that's what I s-"

"Fuck!"

"Language."

She stood up insanely quickly, holding up a second blanket up to her chest and wrapping it around herself. "That's the least of my problems, dear. I'm going to be murdered at this rate!" She ran up the stairs with a stack of clothes, with you right behind her, still somewhat confused. She entered what you think was their bathroom, as she almost closed the door on your face, hers just peeking out through the space between the door and the wall. "Sorry dearie, I'm not allowing you to take baths with me yet."

"Oh, right." You stood back, and she fully closed the door; it still let sound through, though, probably a measure she took to reassure Newton when he wasn't with during her showers. Speaking of, water could be heard rushing by now. "So, what was that about?"

"I promised Reid I'd be there by nine so we could start analyzing nearby black holes for faint traces of Branthium. Theoretically, that's the second hardest part. I'll explain the rest to you when I'll have the time to." You heard an elongated sigh from the other side of the door. "Say, dearie - while you're out there, care to brew a cuppa for me?"

"I don't see why not." You went to the kitchen, starting up the boiler. "Peppermint?"

"Of course."

You took a pack of her seemingly favorite tea - it was the only one they had, after all, so guessing that part wasn't hard at all - and brewed it, adding a singular sugar cube in the cup, as she seemed to do every time she brew her tea herself.

Minutes later, Mary came back, fully clothed, just when the tea got done - talk about perfect timing. She grabbed her phone - what would look to the mundane eye as a simple sheet of glass with a steel band on the top and bottom, but actually held much more information than a stand-sized book; one of the privileges of being one of the minds that worked at Olympus, since they were mostly leading in every type of technology due to the polyvalence of the people there. She tapped here and there, then sighed again, and put down the object. "'aight then! that leaves me with an hour to kill."

She grabbed her cup of tea, while you slowly sipped at yours, which was mixed with a small amount of milk - you'd learned from last time. "So, your time to answer me. How come you spent half an hour in my room, eh?" She looked at you with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"That's, um... A very good question indeed." You struggled to find words that would make you seem like some sort of, for the lack of a better word, weirdo. "You see, you're, uh... very... 'captivating' when you sleep, so to speak." She hummed encouragingly, signaling you to go on. "I might have just, you know... Casually stared at nothing but the perfect scenery you very set in - and yourself with it - for a good half an hour. Nothing more, I swear."

"Nothing more, hm~?" She asked almost teasingly, bringing her face up to yours.

Your closeness sort of embarrassed you, but you didn't think too much about it. "N-Nothing more. A-At all."

"Nothing more. Riiight." She continued drinking her cup of tea in silence for a few minutes, when her head jerked up again. "Oh, by the way. I should be free tomorrow - if you need a full tour of Olympus, that'd be a perfect time to do that. Plus, you'll probably need another set of clothes, which we get a constant supply of thanks to ships launching from Talos. And, furthermore, that'd be an excellent opportunity for bonding up, and we're going to need that if you'll stay a year with us." She stood up, holding her hand out to you. "So, how's that sound?"

You took her hand, and she pulled you up, towards her. "Sounds good. Very good. I'm counting on you to wake up early, then."

She laughed at this. "Only if you don't spend an hour looking at me when I'm asleep, darlin'."

"Well, I'd better work on that now, then."

* * *


End file.
